The 79th Hunger Games: Hurdles and Barriers
by The Minun
Summary: A short story by my friend My Words Speak, a small part in our Final Rebellion Series. (FINAL REBELLION COMING SOON!) This story marks the Final turning point to the Climax, where Asia and the Rebel forces of 13, face off against the Capitol and Romania. So I hope you read this, and check out the other stories by me and my friend. The rest of the series is on my page. Thank You!
1. Chapter 1

**So what up all you lovely people, it's me, My Words Live, welcoming you to a brand new story which I hope all of you will love and enjoy. For those of you who have been reading this series, the Final Rebellion will be coming out right after this story. And I have to say, both of the last stories, (Final Rebellion parts 1 and 2) are going to be AMAZING. So read and review, let me know what you think, and remember to check out my Co-Author, My Words Speak. Thank you all so much, 안녕히 가세요****!**

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Prologue

"I know I've said it many times, but I am honored to be the head Gamemaker."

"I think you've earned it. You were far more useful than Mikah ever was."

Shark Valler grimaced. "She did an abysmal job two years ago."

"Yes. Now the reason I called you here. You received my memo?"

"Yes sir."

"This is a list of known rebel districts." Snow handed over a thin sheet of paper.

Shark scanned the list quickly. "Umm Sir... these are ALL the districts."

"Exactly," Snow grumbled. "Now the reason I called you here is this: which District should I send her to?"

"1 or 2?"

"No, too noticeable."

"3, 5, 7, 8, 9, or 10?"

"Too obscure."

"12?"

"That Abernathy would figure out something was going on."

"4?"

Snow contemplated that for a minute. Then he said, "I knew I made a good choice in promoting you."

District 1

Pyros Djokovic was a proud member of the Djokovic clan, one of the most ancient and well respected families in Panem next to the Snows, of course. He was the best of the best, and he never wasted an opportunity to remind anyone he could of that.

The morning of the reaping he woke up and and stretched as he looked out the window. He saw a small boy, he looked about twelve years old, in the Djokovics' back yard. He jerked open the large screen door and stepped out onto the patio still in his expensive white robe and slippers and yelled at the boy, "WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE DJOKOVICS DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING!"

The boy looked up in terror. He was scrawny and underfed.

"You filthy mongrel!" Pyros sputtered. "You are not worthy enough to dig through the trash bins of the Djokovics!"

His parents had held a massive party the night before to celebrate the only son of the Djokovic clan going to the Hunger Games, and the boy had been about to eat the remains of someone's cake.

"Go begone with you, you... you dirty muttation! And do not let your filth defile the house of the Djokovics as long as your sorry hide might live!" HE went inside, feeling as if he had done his duty to keep the house of the Djokovics free of the filth and dirt that defiled most of the rest of district 1

Cyan Rubyon was now 15 years old. Three years prior, her older sister Sapphire had been killed in the very Games that Cyan was now training for. Three years ago when she had watched her sister die she had been an ignorant, puny weakling. Now she was a force to be reckoned with. With her high pitched grunt that was her signature fighting niche, she hurled a spear straight into the heart of a dummy.

Her sister had made a terrible mistake. Jealousy. Some other girl had been against the Careers and the leader of the Careers, who had ended up being the Victor, had fallen for her instead. So Cyan had spent the long years since the 76th games training to be a ruthless fighter, and while she was doing that she had also, slowly but steadily, began to put up walls around her heart. She was an impenetrable fortress. No one could reach her, no one could touch her. That way she could not meet her sister's downfall.

(Little did she know what she thought was her strength would be her undoing)

No one had ever found the escort Jettson, so the substitute escort, Rosalinda, had become the permanent escort for district 1. Rosalinda did the usual introductions while Cyan stood there like a sentinal that had been called to guard there. She was feeling no emotion even though she was about to make a life changing decision, because of the unbreakable barriers that now stood around her heart.

"Polish Columbious,"

"I volunteer."

Everyone in the crowd whirled around to see where the hard, flinty voice had come from and were surprised to see a fifteen year old girl as the origin of the sound.

"Alright then, what's your name?"

"Cyan Rubyon."

Rosalinda of course, had not escorted Sapphire and did not remember her, but the rest of the district did.

"Now moving on to the boys!"

Pyros nodded and breathed in deeply, ready to bellow the fateful words of I Volunteer,

and Rosalinda read, "Pyros Djokivic."

"I volunteer!" Yelled another boy. Pyros almost screamed in anger when he saw it was Michael Lucian, the boy he had been rivals with since their first basketball game against each other in third grade.

"You filthy DOG!" Pyros barked in outrage. How dare that Lucian kid steal his place!

"It's my year!" Michael retorted, equally angry.

"I VOLUNTEER MYSELF FOR MYSELF!" Pyros proclaimed at the top of his lungs. He was going to win the Hunger Games and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him!

District 2

Patten Alrod was only fifteen, but he was certain he could take any adult.

After the whole scheme with Andi flopped, Mr Alrod had gone to a devastated Patten and convinced him it was for the best that he become a Career to go win the Hunger Games and avenge his sister's death.

The then twelve-year-old Patten had given into his father's wishes and every day, every moment, trained long and hard for the day when he would finally get revenge on the people who had killed his sister.

As he lifted his usual morning weights, he thought about three years ago. He had been such an idiot, thinking his sister could actually win. She had been weak! Love had made her a weak tribute with no backbone!

Patten Alrod was only fifteen, but he had been completely and, some thought, beyond repair, brainwashed.

Alexandria Felicia Beatrix Westhrop was a girl with an unnecessarily long name, and a tendency to threaten you with the large, serrated knife she always had strapped to her belt loop.

Some days she was an invincible warrior. But some days she was just like any other teenage girl: full of emotions and confused about where she fit in with the rest of District 2.

Those were the days when you didn't want to cross her.

The reaping day was one of those days. She headed down to her gym and ran laps while her mind was a confused mess.

There's only one way to find out who I am, she thought. It's the way I always believed. The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games. If I go to the Hunger Games I will finally find what I have been looking for... Her identity. She had been searching for so long, and the day when she would volunteer was finally at hand...

I hope it's worth it. She shook her head to clear the thought. It was the Hunger Games! Of course it would be worth it!

Java, the long time escort of District 2, arrived at the town square right on time as usual. She made the usual introductions, and then went over to the girls' reaping ball.

"Lorianna White."

"I...I..." No! Now was the time to be strong! "I VOLUNTEER!"

"And we have a volunteer! What is your name?"

"Alexandria Westhrop." Her father had told her to not use her full name, because it would make her seem like an "airhead."

"Lovely, now you can stand right up here..."

Alexandria felt like the skyline of District 2 was getting hazy and distant, but maybe it was just the importance of what she had just done. She was finally on her way to the Games.

"Now, our boy tribute for this year is-"  
"I VOLUNTEER!"

A fifteen year old boy stepped out of the crowd. Achilles, who was onstage in an overstuffed chair, leaned forward, straining to see the boy.

"...Your name?" Java finished the question she had started while Achilles was preoccupied.

"Patten Alrod,"

A strangled cry came from Achilles. NO! NOOO! Not her brother! He... he volunteered! He hadn't felt the pain that bad since he won his Games. Afterwards it had been a dull ache.

Until now.

District 3

The week before Seth Walton had been in the woods with some of the guys and they had been making fun of his nonexistent athletic ability.

Lucas Martin had kept elbowing him painfully in the ribs and saying, "Ohh did that hurt? Well Sorry Walton, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!"

Then the others laughed in their annoying way. Seth had rubbed his aching stomach and then decided it was about time to go, it was a bad idea doing that. The guys had been mean to him ever since their "leader's" death. It had been better before he died. He had been the only one who had ever accepted Seth for who he was and not if he did their homework for him.

After their leader's death, that had been the policy: you do our homework and we don't beat you to a pulp.

"Well I've got to go," Seth had said, but Lucas grabbed his shoulder and didn't let him go.

"I know, Lucas. I'll do your homework," he sighed.

"No Walton. I think instead of homework, tonight we want you to do something else."  
"I agreed to do your homework, that's it," Seth said irritably, trying to jerk away from Lucas's grasp, but he held firm. Lucas gave him a look that said, If you don't do this all bets are off and you'll be lucky to be alive tomorrow.

Seth, whose hands had gone clammy, said shakily, "What?"

"Climb that tree." Lucas pointed up at the tallest oak tree in the woods.

Seth slowly walked at the tree, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants. He grasped a low hanging branch and lifted himself up onto it.

Then the first rock came.

It whistled by his left ear, missing, but barely. Then more came, a whole barrage of pebbles and other smaller rocks. They battered him, and his wire-rimmed glasses fell to the forest floor. Seth sat helpless on the first branch, but he knew what he had to do. Get higher. He reached up for a higher branch. He almost had it when...

WHAM.

He felt like he had been punched in the stomach by King Kong. He had landed hard on the forest floor, and Lucas laughed and high fived the other guys. Then they left, and Lucas took care to tread on Seth's fingers with his bulky hunting boots.

Allie Sorren's twelfth birthday had finally arrived. She woke up with a feeling of joy in the pit of her stomach as she came down to breakfast, where her mom had made caramel rolls piled high on a blue plate, and a brightly colored box was on the table.

She spent no time on breakfast, eating all her caramel rolls in less than five minutes, then she opened the box. It was not a big box, but her face lit up in joy when she saw what was in it.

It was one of those music chips that was tiny enough to be concealed in a flake of glitter, but can hold hours of songs.

"This is so cool!" She exclaimed. Music had been a part of Allie's life since she was four years old and decided she had wanted to be a professional singer. At age six, she had started piano, at nine, guitar, at eleven, trumpet and flute, and she was going to the music shop later that day to get her first French Horn.

Her mom said, "We gave you that one, to do with whatever you like."

"Thanks mom, I LOVE it!"

Her mom swallowed uncomfortably and said, "Allie, you do know today is going to be your first reaping?"

The feeling of joy she had woken up with froze over and became a pretzel of worry. She had forgotten all about the reaping.

"You can do it," her mom reassured her. "You're name is only in there once."

The words did nothing to ease the tension she felt for the first time she might be chosen to die.

Loam Agginson, the infamous foul tempered escort, was again in District 3 for the annual reaping.

He did not wait for the clock to strike twelve, which was the time the reaping started in District 3, but began twenty minutes early to get it all over with.

"Allie Sorren," he said.

The knot in her stomach had almost loosened, but then it clenched tighter than ever at the mention of her name. She had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming, My name was only in there once!

"Get up here already, kid!" he growled, and she took small, quick steps forward.

He didn't wait for her to make it all the way up before reading the boy's name.

"Lucas Martin."

"I volunteer as tribute! I'm Seth Walton!" came a voice from somewhere around Lucas.

"Alright then get up here volunteer," he said, then muttered, "idiot," under his breath.

Seth had no idea what had just happened, and he tried to un-volunteer himself, but he felt like his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth as he came onstage.

When he saw Lucas and his henchmen standing there looking even more smug than usual, the pieces began to fall in place. Lucas getting reaped, him "volunteering."

It was the final blow to top all that they had ever done to him.

District 4

"You will win."

That's what he had told her. Then another man came into the room. She recognized him from TV and her grandfather's parties.

"The variables will be stacked against the others," he explained. "So literally, the odds are in YOUR favor."

She nodded. She was a machine. A machine trained to kill relentlessly. She was smart, good looking, and knew how to handle a diamond sword better than anyone in Panem.

Then they had loaded her onto a train. The train ride had been long and dull. When it was finally over she stepped out and breathed in the damp air. Overhead the sky was a dull gloomy gray and she could see several great ships in the distance.

Lily Snow had arrived in District 4.

The stench of the week old walleye was overwhelming to Drake Anthony as he walked through the fish market. The fish vendors had been having a down week, and the fish that should have been sold days ago were rotting in the side alleys.

Drake was seventeen years old and one of the youngest fishermen to make a living on their trade. He only did it because he had to , however. Every time he brought in the nets there was a pang of guilt at the corpses of the fish he had killed. Cleaning and gutting was the worst. His wickedly sharp silver fishing knife cut into the fish like a hot knife through butter.

Sometimes he still had to clench his stomach at the all the gore, even after two years.

But it was all worth it when he came home to his family of five sisters and a crippled father with dinner.

His sisters were ages five, seven, eight, eleven, and twelve. Their parents had been in an accident the year Drake had started fishing. Drake and his sisters had been in school at the time, and a family friend, Nathan Long, had come to get them.

It was March and a dull gloomy day that was typical in District 4, and Drake had been staring out the window of his math class, willing the clock to speed up. Seventh hour was always the longest, he thought dully, when Nathan Long had come into the room with all five of Drake's sisters in tow.

He had urgently said something to the teacher, and Drake had already stood up, wondering what had happened. Nathan motioned for him to come over, and he did, wondering what could have caused Nathan to come in the middle of his 7th hour to come get him.

"Your mother is dead and your father gravely injured," Nathan said in an undertone. The words hit him like a brick wall. Nathan continued, "Your mother and father were fishing in the Jarvasan Bay when a larger ship came almost out of nowhere. It just splintered the boat in two, and your mother was killed on impact. They don't want you, or anyone else, to see the body, it's a bloody mess. Your father is in critical condition down at the central hospital. He was airlifted there five minutes after the impact."  
The next few hours of riding in Nathan's car down to the central hospital in the dead center of the district were a hazy blur to Drake afterwards. It had started to rain sometime during the drive, and Drake had just watched the raindrops slide down the window, blurring the lights outside.

They had not been able to see Drake's father that day, or the day after. On the third day was Mrs Anthony's funeral (with no body). Sometime around there he had lost all sense of emotion and was just an empty shell walking around.

Eventually, he had started to become aware of feelings and emotions, and Nathan had talked to him about becoming a fisherman to support his sisters and father, who had lost both legs and an arm in the accident.

Drake had fallen into the routine of fishing with Nathan every day, and the familiar twist in his stomach at the killings of the fish that reminded him so much of his own mother's death, in some strange way.

District 4 had a new escort that year, since Novijak the previous one had been beheaded last year for picking two boys.

The new escort's name was Nylonica Quirrinian. She was a bright and bubbly talkative person who completely fit all the escort stereotypes.

Nylonica knew the drill and she picked a girl's name. "Lianna Anthony!"  
Drake almost lunged at the stage in prostest, First his parents and now his sister too?!

"I volunteer." came a dangerous cold voice. "My name is Lily Rain."

She could not, of course, tell anyone she was actually President Snow's granddaughter as that would ruin the whole facade. She felt no fear at volunteering as she knew she would win. The odds were in her favor, Shark Valler had told her.

"Well come on up here then Lily," said Nylonica cheerfully and moved on to the boys.

"Drake Anthony."

Drake had just began to relax when every muscle tensed again. NO! He felt like screaming. Who was going to provide for his family? Sure, Nathan would try and help, but he had his own family to take care of, and there was only so much one guy could do.

Drake looked over at the girl, Lily Rain. She looked about eighteen and she had blonde hair so light it almost looked white, and bright but deadly blue eyes.

As they had to shake hands Drake shuddered at the look she gave him. It was a look of loathing and spite, and it showed that she would have absolutely no problem killing him in the Hunger Games.

That was the problem, Drake would have problems with killing in the Hunger Games.


	2. Chapter 2

**HELLO! My name is My Word's Live, and thank you for reading this chapter of... THE 79TH HUNGER GAMES! (Caesar Flickerman voice) WELCOME! TO CHAPTER 2! Where people get reaped, and people cry, and... Yeah. Well I hope you read this and enjoy it! ;) And a reminder to check out the other stories in this series, which are kinda (vitally) important for this series to work. So if you are interested, just go to my fanfiction page and check out the others! (Which are written by either me, or my Co-Author, My Words Speak) Thank you again! Read and please Review!**

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District 5

Nicholas Calder was dying.

At least, that was what the doctors told him. In a years time you'll be dead. Then it was nine months, then six, then two, and most recently one.

He did not feel that there was anything wrong with him, but the doctors sad there was. They had showed him various test results but he could make no sense of them.

Eight months ago, when he had first been told he was beyond help, he had been fifteen years old. He had been on a class field trip to the nearest power plant, to help the class learn about District 5's industry, power.

They had just been about to get on the bus, but the supervisor had not noticed that Nicholas had stayed behind to talk to one of the power plant workers, because he had been considering owning and operating a power plant when he graduated from school.

He had asked if he could take a look over by the nuclear reactors. The worker had smiled and said, "It's always good to see an enthusiastic youngster. Sure, knock yourself out."

No one ever went near the reactors, most people just left them alone because they only ever used nuclear power in the case of a war, and nuclear power was more District 13's thing, anyway.

That's why no one knew there was a leak.

Ever since he had been told he was going to die from the radiation before he turned seventeen, he had always been subject to sudden fits of paranoia and doubt.

What's happening to me? Why am I still alive? Why did no one notice the leak? Were they trying to kill me? No that's stupid. Yeah I'm stupid! And good for nothing! I'm slowly dying and I'm not going to make it to my seventeenth birthday! Maybe it would be better if the radiation just took me now...

Lenna Shorek left her last class of the day feeling relieved. She had been sure she had failed the test but she hadn't. In fact she hadn't missed a question!

The professor had praised her work above everyone else's, earning her lots of nasty looks from the other students, girls and guys alike.

It definitely wasn't easy being a fourteen year old in the most advanced college in Panem. She had lived in District 9 most of her life, trying to hide the fact that she was smarter than all the rest of her peers combined, but it hadn't been easy. She would fail every test she took, never do her homework, and sometimes even skip classes if she felt she was acting too smart. In every sense of the word she was a juvenile delinquent.

But she wasn't!

She just was trying to fit in with the others, but when she tried it always ended up making things a whole lot worse, and she would go into the woods, where no one would find her. No one would even bother looking for her, probably. She was a pathetic excuse for a teenager.

When she started the seventh grade was when she had made the decision to just bomb out on school and learning.

Her concerned parents (the only ones in the world who would care if she got run over by a train) had called the school guidance counselor, and they set up a date to meet.

Her parents had personally escorted her there so she couldn't ditch.

The counseling session had been a breeze. The counselor had said she was going to give her an IQ test to see if she needed "special help."  
The questions were ridiculously easy, but she tried to get as many wrong as she could without causing the guidance counselor to think she needed help.

After the test, the counselor looked at Lenna over the top of her glasses and asked, "Did you do your very best on that test?"

For some reason, the guidance counselor's glare was making her uncomfortable, and before she could think what she was doing she blurted, "I got all those wrong on purpose!"

There had been a heavy silence, then the guidance counselor said, "That wasn't an IQ test. It was the admittance exam to Preston School in District 5."  
Preston School was the most advanced school in Panem and it only accepted about two students a year. She had heard the test was wickedly hard.

To make the long story short, she had been admitted to Preston, having passed the exam with flying colors. Just when her life had been beginning to look up again, she had run into the same problem she had had in District 9. She just could not fit in.

Anywhere.

The reaping started promptly at 12:00, noon. It was a hot, humid day in District 5, and the heavy air was threatening to smother Nicholas.

"The girl tribute for District 5... Lenna Shorek!"

A short, sullen looking girl stepped out of the crowd, Nicholas remembered seeing her in the Preston school yearbook, because his dad worked there and so he brought home the yearbook every year. He had no idea she was still in the reaping, he had just thought she was really REALLY short for her age.

"And the boy tribute... Nicholas Calder!"

No! I can't do anything remember! I'm the good for nothing idiot who's going to die in a month! Why me? Why me getting reaped? I'm going to die anyway!

Lenna looked over at Nicholas. He kept muttering under his breath like he was talking to himself. She was sure he would hate her too.

District 6

Susan Zammer was among the poorer people of District 6. She had been good friends with the mayor's daughter Lina Mals, but she was killed in the 76th Games, three year ago.

After her death things had slowly began to fall apart. Her family had been living in a coat propped up on sticks pretty much and their only source of food was Lina and Susan's tesserae that she took out every year.

Somewhere along the line, about a year and a half ago, they started sending spoiled food for the tesserae. Susan did not know it was spoiled however until two of her brothers died. She had frantically searched for the cause and when she had finally found out it was the food, another brother and a sister were dead. So she only had one sibling left.

She had had to find work somewhere. Her parents were out of the question, since her father had died when she was seven years old and her mom had left shortly after.

Her only sibling left was a sister, Kailin. She was thirteen years old, and she was the only reason Susan went through the torture of going to her job each day, where she was underpaid, and overworked.

The reaping day was bittersweet because she had a day off from her rotten job, but of course there was the ever present hand of death over every one of the kids at the town square, including her and Kailin...

Gregory Sattin was a jerk. There was no way around it. He hated it, but no matter how hard he tried to change it, he WAS!

He thought to a few days ago, his last attempt to be social.

"Hey!"  
The girls looked at him in disgust. One of them muttered to the other, "What a creeper, he's just pretending to be nice so he can take advantage of us later."  
Gregory's blood boiled in anger. He wrestled to keep it down, but the anger rushing to his head was just too much. He felt as if he kept his mouth shut any longer his whole head might actually explode.

"YEAH WELL! I BET YOU WOULDN'T KNOW NICE IF IT CAME UP AND STOLE YOUR MAKEUP!"

The girls looked at him in disdain. "See... I told you."

He was just not a people person. And for a good reason. As a young child, he had been raised in the District 6 orphanage, where everyone was taught to be bitter and indifferent to the world and the people around them. The kids were worked hard and only given a piece of stale bread at the end of the day, and their "caregivers" had as much food as they pleased.

When the kids complained and said it wasn't fair, they just laughed and said The world wasn't fair so they should get used to it.

When he was twelve years old, he had finally been adopted by a kind family. They had him in their best interest, and although he didn't act like it, he actually cared for them.

But he yelled at them, and was sarcastic and disrespectful. He just could not shake the bitter boy in the orphanage. When he was mean and cruel, he usually ran to his room and slammed the door, and locked it. He would then lean with his back to the door and try to stand strong but would end up sliding down to the ground eventually, hot tears running down his face as he tried to shake loose of the nasty unlikable guy he had become.

The day of the reaping was bright, sunny and hot. The heat was not the only thing making Gregory sweat. He had had another outburst at his parents shortly before leaving for the reaping, and it was a particularly bad one.

"Kailin Zammer!"

"No KAILIN!" Came a yell from the older girls. A panicked Susan rushed forward, her messy ponytail falling out of place.

"Don't do it, Susie," said Kailin in a choked voice. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

"I have to Kailin, you're all I have left." she said in a desperate voice.

"You can't."

"Kailin..."

"I was the one who got picked. I don't want you to die for me!"

"Girls..." the escort said impatiently.

"I'm going to win for you, Susie," said Kailin as the sisters hugged each other.

"And now for the boys! Gregory Sattin!"

His heart jumped up into his throat. And stayed there.

District 7

Sadie Simmons was pretending to be a guy.

She was eighteen years old, she was stronger, faster, and a whole lot tougher than guys her age. It did not come naturally however. She had had to work for years to get like she was.

It had started at age ten when she was in the fifth grade. A mean girl called Shalene had made fun of her in P.E. because they were rope climbing and she could not make her way to the ceiling. Then after P.E was over she was also teased for not wearing makeup.

They were the stupidest things, really, but they drove Sadie over the edge. She had always had what guidance counselors would call "anger issues" but what she called "instinct."

Every day after that, she had exercised privately. It was grueling, almost to the point of torture, and starting in sixth grade she neglected homework. Of course she had been made fun of for that too, but she quietly told herself she would one day get revenge.

That day came in December of her junior year. It was bitterly cold, and when they got out of school sleet was hammering the streets. It was already almost dark, and the little remaining light was quickly being swallowed by the night.

Sadie had pulled on her coat and followed Shalene, who had never stopped making her life miserable since that day in the fifth grade. Shalene had went over to what residents of District 7 called "The Chasm" because it was, well... a chasm.

The sides of The Chasm were icy and slick from the sleet, and Sadie could feel the cold from the frozen ground through her boots.

Shalene's face was in her hands, and her shoulders were shaking like she was crying. Sadie took slow halting steps forward, being careful of the icy spots.

She grabbed Shalene by the back of her coat and turned her around and lifted her up slightly so they were eye to eye.

Shalene's face was bright red from the cold, and there were tear streaks down her cheeks.

"You have been my personal torturer for the last seven years." she growled.

Shalene took several gasping breaths, and looked over her shoulder. They were standing right on the precipice of The Chasm.

"I have been-" suddenly Sadie slipped on a spot frozen over by the sleet. It caught her off guard, and she let go of Shalene to flail her arms and regain balance. But Shalene, who had been abruptly dropped by Sadie, could not find her footing before disappearing over the edge of The Chasm.

Sadie rushed over but could not see the body. The fading light made her strain her eyes but there was no sign of the girl she had inadvertently killed.

The reason she was pretending to be a guy?  
Only the guys were allowed to go mining for minerals down in The Chasm.

Andrew Schalk was chopping down trees when it happened, the fell stroke that ripped his back open. He was never the same again.

It had happened last October, when he was chopping trees for the first fires of the season. It had been unusually cold lately and he and his brothers had cleaned out their chimney the day before. That morning he had woken up to frost on his window pane, and his father stuck his head through the door.

"We're going to be stocking up on firewood today, son," he said.

Andrew had nodded and got his axe that was leaning against his bedpost.

The morning was brisk but sunny, but the sun gave no warmth. He could see the wisps of his breath in the air.

He felt the blade of his axe, and through his thick leather glove he could feel the sharpness of it.

He set to work on the large overhanging branches of an oak tree near the yard. After about twenty minutes he began to sweat. His face was red from the work and the cold.

He was so busy that he did not notice his older cousin Joey coming up to him, and Joey did not notice him either.

Quick as a flash, Joey's axe slashed through Andrew's back. There was a sudden intense pain before he collapsed on the ground and everything went black.

When he woke up he was surrounded by people and there was a distinct scent of apple cider in the air.

He tried to sit up, but a streak of pain hit his back.

"AGHGHH!" he let out a yell of pain.

Joey looked at him guiltily. "I'm sorry..."

"Sorry...for what?" Andrew said with gritted teeth from the pain.

Joey took a deep breath and said his next words in a jumbled rush. "IwashelpingcutdowntreesandIdidn'tseeyouandyoudidn 'tseemeandIwasabouttocutdownatreeandIdidn'tseeyous oIsortofcutyourbackopenandit'sreallynastyandIdidn' tmeantoI'MSORRY!"

Andrew's head was spinning from all the words.

"Maybe we should just show him," his dad said and helped him out of the bed. The slightest movement caused bolts of pain to shoot diagonally across his back. His dad helped him over to a mirror and Andrew looked over his shoulder at the wound.

It was an ugly scar that started at his right shoulder and went down to his lower back. The flesh around the wound was bright pink and swollen, and the scar was jagged and deep.

As Andrew stared in numbed shock at his back, Joey gave an awkward cough. He was sweating, even though it was not particularly warm in the room.

"There's one more thing the doctors said..." Joey began tentatively.

When there was silence he continued. "They said, you're never going to be able to do anything harder than walking for the rest of your life."

The day of the reaping was a hot, humid day, there were heavy clouds hanging over District 7 but they refused to bring rain.

The sticky air made the reaping even more ominous than usual, and the escort read a girls' name. "Sadie Simmons!"

A tall buff girl stepped out of the crowd. of course, it would be in my last year, Sadie thought As the punishment for... she could not finish the thought.

"And now the boy tribute for this year is, Andrew Schalk!"  
Joey jumped out of the crowd, but Andrew was too quick even with his injury.

"I'm not gonna let you do it Joey," Andrew said in a warning tone.

"But what about your-" Joey stopped mid sentence. If Andrew was really going to the Hunger Games none of the other tributes needed to know about his incapacitating injury.

"My what." Andrew said coldly.

"It's... nothing," Joey said in a careful tone. He went back to stand in the crowd, but when no one was looking he silently left of the town square.

District 8

Death. Death. Death. Max Ferguson saw it everywhere. Put him in any situation and he would find death. Math class, the trees killed to make the paper and pencil. Sports practice, all the freak accidents that permanently injured or killed. Dinner time, the animals and plants killed and cleaned and cut and brought to his plate.

Some said he was overly cautious, some said he was traumatized, some said he was paranoid, and some said he was just plain crazy.

Most people went with that last one.

Max had not always been like he was. It had began two years ago, in the seventh grade, on a gloomy Friday in November.

The leaves had fallen, but snow was yet to come to District 8. Max Ferguson had been the "golden boy" of his class, the best at sports, the most popular, he had a personality bigger than life, and he thought the girl he liked might like him too.

His friends had been telling him so for ages, but he was convinced they were pulling his leg. That day at school had been boring, like usual, and when he and his friends were hanging out at his locker after school Max saw her leave out a different door than usual.

Thinking that she might be alone for once, and he might get a chance to talk to her without all her giggly friends, he slammed the locker door shut in excitement and said a hurried goodbye to his friends, and dashed toward the door.

"Dude, the bus is that way!" yelled Duncan Tellestan.

He ignored Duncan and shoved open the door. A rush of cold air hit him. It was freezing, and the overhanging clouds promised snow.

Marian Chrome, the girl mentioned earlier, was walking along a sidewalk. As he ran to catch up to her a few flakes of snow began to float down from the sky.

"Hey," he said, out of breath from the run.

"Hey," she said, surprised. She was leaning against a metal bar with a sign hanging from it that read RESTRICTED TERRITORY: DO NOT ENTER.

"Uhhh... You didn't come here for the sights, did you?" he asked, looking out on the restricted territory. It was mostly old rotting crates and piles of junk.

She laughed, "No. I was just wishing I had the nerve to go under this fence."

He raised his eyebrows, "Oh?" He had been under the fence many times. He and his friends had played Bam back there countless times. "Well I think I do," and with tha he ducked under the metal bar that served as a fence. When he was under he stood up and spread his arms out. "Hey, what do you know?"

She looked impressed, which fueled Max's bravado even more. "Come on," he said. "It's not going to kill you."

"You shouldn't joke about those things," she said, but she was smiling, and soon she ducked under the metal bar to join him.

They talked for a while, and Max kept scaling the crates and junk piles to keep Marian impressed. Then she said, "Come down from there or you're going to fall."

"Scared?" he asked teasingly, but he jumped down, and his feet landed hard on the asphalt.

"Maybe I am," she said, coming closer to him. His heartbeat sped up, and despite the cold and the snowflakes that were beginning to fall steadily, he felt uncomfortably warm.

But it was better than he had ever imagined. He was really going to ~!

"HEY! YOU! BACK THERE!" came a voice. They both involuntarily jerked back.

A white-clad Peacekeeper stormed around the corner. "This is restricted territory. Can't you stupid kids read?!" Before either of them could react, the Peacekeeper pulled out his gun and fired a few times, hitting Max in the shoulder.

He bit back a cry of pain, and clutched his shoulder tightly to stop the flow of blood.

The Peacekeeper muttered, "Stupid kids need to learn their lesson," and left.

Max noticed Marian motionless on the ground. He rushed over to her in alarm and saw that the ground dusted with snow was stained red.

"Marian!" he cried. "No, Marian..." It was too late. She was already gone.

His eyes filled with tears as he walked down the road, now covered with a fine layer of snow. He did not try to hold the tears back.

Maddy Chrome thought that Max Ferguson was not off his rocker, but rather a self obsessed indifferent jerk.

Two years ago he had come to her family's door with a bandaged arm and a cast, and teary eyes, and he said in a choked voice how he had gotten her twin sister killed and there was nothing he could have done to save her.

Uhhhh... how about not bringing her to restricted territory in the first place!  
Then he had spent the next two years freaking out whenever he saw something die or something reminded him of something dying. Which is to say, all the time.

She remembered the terrible day clearly.

The doorbell rang urgently a couple of times.

"Maddy, can you go get that?" her mother asked.

Maddy headed to the door and opened it. There was a boy with long blonde hair with a bandaged arm and a cast. Blood was seeping through the bandage, and the boy had tear streaks down his face, indicating that he had been crying. She recognized this boy from school. His name was Max Ferguson. She wondered why he was at her house. She liked him, but so did her sister, Marian. She felt a pang of jealousy at the thought he might be here for Marian and not her.

But the name he said was not Marian but "Maddy?"  
She grew excited. "Yeah?"  
"I... I don't exactly know how to put it but M-Marian is dead."

"She... She what?" Maddy asked dumbfoundedly. In all her daydreams about Max appearing at her doorstep and asking to talk to her, none of them had ever turned out like this.

He went on to explain how she died and how there was no way he could have saved her. He talked about how he liked her, and would give anything to be in her place. Maddy had stopped listening long ago, thinking for the first time that Max was a selfish jerk.

After all, he was crying about the loss of his girl. But she was more than just his girl. She was Maddy's SISTER! She should be the one crying, but no, she forced herself to be strong, while Max just... collapsed, there was no better word for it.

It was a given that she definitely did NOT like him any more.

The reaping was a dismal day in District 8. No one from the District had won in twenty years. The reaping was pretty much a death sentence for everyone there.

Yet it went on, year after year after year.

"The girl tribute for this year is... Maddy Chrome!"

She had had plenty of practice at not showing emotions, especially when Marian died, (unlike Max who wore his heart on his sleeve). Thinking about Max, made her have to stifle a laugh at the thought of Max watching "his girl's" twin sister doing what he feared most.

Killing. If she lived that long...

"And the boy tribute will be... Max Ferguson!"

NO! Maddy almost shrieked. That was not how it was supposed to go! She was supposed to get partnered with some cute guy that she was going to kill later! Not that jerk who she used to like who was always going on about

Death, Max thought. He hadn't watched the Hunger Games since the year Marian was killed but before he had. He had seen every gory killing ten times over.

Death it really is everywhere.

District 9

Ellis Kryal had a pretty good life.

In his opinion, yeah, it was pretty great. He had a family, which was more than could be said for some people he knew, he had friends, again more than he could say of some.

Sure he wasn't the best at sports, and he wasn't on the A honor roll or anything.

And there was that whole thing with him and Genius Girl. Her name was really not Genius Girl, of course. It was a nickname someone had thought was clever, and well, it made like glue and... stuck.

Her name was actually Lenna Shorek. She was two grades below him in school but she was a lot smarter than any other teenager in District 9. She could multiply the square root of 577 by pi cubed in under twenty seconds and had a knack for memorization.

Of course, he had been the first one to know. It had happened when he was fourteen and she was twelve.

She had been just starting the seventh grade, and it was about November. She had been cutting classes left and right that year, but that day she had showed up around fifth hour and hung around the rest of the day. Since Ellis was not in her grade he did not know about how she had once tried to fit in, and the girl puzzled him.

A guy on his football team had told him she was actually a genius and she was trying to fit in but was desperately failing. Ellis had laughed it off but that day he knew the truth.

Ellis had dozed off during math (because really who wouldn't?) and had not gotten the assignment, so he had to go back to get it.

He had walked in on her staring at the white board, just staring blankly.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed.

"Ummmm..." She jumped at the realization she was not alone in the room. She saw him and blushed. "Please don't tell anyone!" she said in a panicked voice.

"Tell... what?"

She motioned at the board. "I've figured it out." ELlis took a closer look at the board. It was the problem that the senior class had been working on all year. None of them had figured it out. Even the teacher could not think pf a solution.

"No one likes me, they either think I'm stupid or a nerd." she said, embarrassed.

"I don't think you're a nerd, and I definitely don't think you're stupid," Ellis said in awe. This "sevvie" had found the answer that the whole honors trigonometry class and the math teacher could not?

"But you hate me, just like everyone else," she said without missing a beat.

"I... nahhh," He replied. "What's to hate?"  
She just shrugged, and then Ellis left the classroom, forgotten about any assignment.

That night he had told his parents at dinner about the genius girl he had met, and they gave each other a look. After dinner they went into their study and Ellis could hear them talking in low voices. In two weeks' time Lenna Shorek had been shipped to the Preston School in District 5, because of her geniusness she could never be in an ordinary school again. It had turned out that Mr and Mrs Shorek had been told by his parents about what he had seen.

So she had left District 9 and not a day went by that Ellis did not regret telling. He had wanted to know this mysterious modern Einstein but a mistake had taken her away forever.

Selena White was that girl. The one that everyone else talked about behind her back.

There was that quote, "Some people bring happiness wherever they go, but some people bring happiness whenever they leave."

In the eighth grade the class had had to vote on a quote that described everyone in the grade, and although Selena's was "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration," everyone, including her, knew she had been unanimously voted "The Quote" as people called it, but the teachers, who had been on an anti bullying kick at the time, had replaced it with a different one.

She was that girl who was a jerk to everyone, including her friends, and who was especially mean to her enemies, and who everyone held in popularity because they knew she would make their life miserable if they didn't.

That was also the reason she had been elected to student council three years in a row.

A lot of guys thought she was hot because of her popularity ranking and the fact that she held a lot of power in their grade.

She flirted with them and they fell for it, and all the other girls would shoot her angry glares when she did.

The truth was, it took being the meanest kid in the class to make her feel like she was anything. There was always an empty feeling somewhere where she thought happiness should be, and no matter how hard she tried she could not fill it.

The escort for District 9 was very unhappy that she still had not been promoted to a better district. 9 was a pretty lame place to be, at least when it came to the Games.

"Boy tribute is Ellis Kryal," she said dully. "Come on and die kid."  
Ellis felt a starnge mixture of fear, disappointment, and excitement.

Fear, of course, because it WAS the Hunger Games, various people would be trying to kill him, disappointment because whatever plans he had had of going to District 5 after graduating, and possibly finding Lenna Shorek, had just flown out the window, and excited because wherever Lenna Shorek was, she would see him on TV in District 5. The Hunger Games was required viewing, after all, so she would see every minute of it.

"Girl tribute Selena White," said the escort.

The girl came up. Ellis knew her of course, even though she was two years younger (In Lenna Shorek's grade! he thought involuntarily). A lot of his friends liked her but he really could not see why.

Then he wondered if Lenna Shorek was watching him right now, and if she was, if she remembered that boy who had walked in on her in the math room.


	3. Chapter 3

**HELLO! My name is My Words live, and I have ABSOLUTELY Umm. This is going to be a long chapter, so it'll take a while. If you don't recognize some of the names, know that they were probably tributes and/or victors in another Games we wrote (Which you can find on my page).So just sit back, relax, and Read and Review. **

* * *

District 10

It was a hot August night when Shawn Martzell's life was ruined.

His family had been at a fireworks display that District 10 held every year. Every year the Capitol had thought it was a bad idea to let the district use explosives, but every year they did, and every year nothing bad ever happened.

Until last year.

Mr Martzell had been a rather large fellow, with a booming voice. He was a rancher since birth and when he was younger he had wanted to be a rancher like his dad, and that dream became reality. He had only one son, Shawn, who was his permanent ranch hand.

He was also in charge of the fireworks display every year.

In the Capitol President Snow and Shark Valler had been talking about the explosives.

"They're going to stockpile them," Shark Valler said, "And save them for a war"  
"Exactly," said Snow. "We need to think of a way to stop it! The problem is, if we stop it without a reason then the people will get... suspicious. Restless. They'll want to know more. And they can't Valler, they can't know we fear them!"  
"We don't fear them, Sir."

"I've taught you well," Snow remarked. "But deep down, yes, we do."

"Who did you say that man was, who's in charge of the thing?"  
"You mean Joseph Martzell?"  
"That's the one."

That year's fireworks display was supposed to be fantastic as ever, and as tradition Mr Martzell started the first one.

As it grew dark, the mosquitoes began to buzz around all the people. Shawn slapped at them angrily as dusk began to fall.

One of the girls in his class came up to him and said, "It's so cool that your dad does this every year. I really like it."  
"He's about to start, look," he said, pointing to his dad who was ready to start.

But it did not go into the sky. Instead, with a deafening boom that rocked the hot, still night, it flew right at Mr Martzell.

"DAD!" Shawn exclaimed, and ran over to him. His dad was unrecognizable. Most of his hair was burning off, and his face was blackened and sickening to look at. Most of the people nearby backed off but Shawn did not.

"Dad you were... you were burned to a crisp," he said, his voice catching.

"Shawn... Sh... S..." Then it was all over.

Shawn did not try and hide his tears. The next day, District 10 was notified by the Capitol that due to the terrible and gruesome accident, they would no longer be sending the explosives every year.

Mollie Savlen was a cow rancher, she hated the job and everything that came with it, but it was... necessary.

Officially, her father ran the ranch, but there were... circumstances.

She had been running a ranch single-handedly for the last three months and it was starting to wear on her. Three months ago, in April, her family had been killed.

It had been a dreadful night, there had been a steady rain all day and that night things only got worse. Lightning flashed outside her window, and she decided to head down to the basement, where her parents were watching TV.

She came down in her slippers and bath robe. One of her older sisters was already there, drinking tea or cocoa or something.

"Hey, Mollie," said her mother cheerfully.

Her other sister, Phyllis, was not there, and Mollie was actually glad. Phyllis was not mentally stable, as some might say, she had been taking guidance counseling for the past few months but it was not really helping. The doctors said they did not exactly know what was wrong with her.

A rumble of thunder roared from the sky, and a figure appeared in the doorway holding a steak knife.

Mollie said, "I think I'm going to go upstairs and get myself some hot cocoa too." She walked right past the person with the knife, and did not notice her.

Twenty minutes later when she came back down she saw the goriest sight of her life. Her family had been slashed open by someone who had had a knife, the blood was everywhere and they were clearly dead, their eyes glazed over in shock and fear. The murder weapon was on the floor, a bloody steak knife.

The reaping was a hot day, just like any other in District 10, but for two kids this day would either be the end of their life or the beginning.

"...And the girl for this year will be Mollie Savlen!"

She froze. OH no, who would take care of the ranch now? Eventually, someone would find out her family had been killed and then...

Well, she would be dead by then anyway.

"...Shawn Martzell!" Shawn had tuned out, until he heard his name. His mind raced for a conclusion, but the only logical one was Did I just get reaped?!

His guess was confirmed when his mom dissolved into tears and sobbed, "No... Shawn... First Joseph and now you? Why... Why..."

He tried to keep a blank expression as he came onstage. First his dad, and now him...

District 11

Yugo Jaqq was what his history teacher called an "illegal immigrant."

Of course, no one knew that. He had fled from Romania when he was twelve years old, and had ended up in a place called Panem almost a year later. His hair had been almost reached his shoulders, despite the attempts to keep it short by cutting it with a knife. He had smelled terrible, and he looked even worse.

He had ran away three years before, when the first news of the Midnight Rose were starting to spread around Romania.

Miezul nopții a crescut. The Midnight Rose.

It had terrified him, what they were doing. So he had fled, only to end up in the place called Panem that he had been running from in the first place. The Panem country was evil, he saw on the TV. They sent two kids to an arena every year, and the alliance with Romania was to stop the people who were trying to stop that evil! It was... It was inhumane!

He did not fit in with the people of District 11, of course, because they all had dark skin and hair, while he was tanned with light brown hair that he had cut short on arriving to Panem.

But he tried his best to fit in with the people, and when one of his few friends had told him about the rebellion a year before he had come, he had smiled and thought, When there is another war, I will be fighting in it. And I know where I will stand.

Violet Rosenthal did a man's job. It killed her back, her arms, her neck to do it, but she knew she had to or everyone she loved would die.

It sounded like a bad action novel, but it was her life, and as much as she hated it, she accepted it. She spent most of her day in a wheat field with a scythe.

The schedule was strict; be at the field by 5:00 each morning, and leave at 10:00 each night. There was the tesserae, of course, but that did not do much except provide some basic food. Her seven siblings needed more than food, after all, and her parents were not around to help any. It was not their fault in the least, though.

During the rebellion, right after Rue's death, when the people had started to run around and break things, her mother had been trampled to death by the mob, and her father, who had noticed her mother fall, stopped to help her and was caught up by the crowd too.

Violet had grabbed three of her siblings, and her eighteen year old sister Sammay had gotten the rest. All of them survived the night.

The reaping was a weird event, and in some ways more terrifying than in other Districts. Since District 11 was so big, only half the people from ages 12-18 had to attend the reaping. The tributes were chosen ahead of time, and the Capitol notified two hundred or so teenagers that they would be required to attend the reaping, making sure the tribute chosen was one of them.

Violet had not been required to attend the last two years, but this year she was and was very nervous about being back in the reaping after two years of safety.

"The girl tribute for this year is Violet Rosenthal!"

No wonder she had had to come this year...

Yugo had been to one reaping before. It had been the previous year, when Erin Breadamoose and Chase Robbsandew had been chosen. Chase had been a friend of his, he had actually been the one to tell Yugo about the rebellion. His cousin Erin Breadamoose had helped him learn how to speak the language of Panem, and he taught her and Chase some basic Romanian. He was still thinking about his two friends when the name, "Yugo Jaqq" Was called!  
It was him! He would meet the same fate as Erin and Chase, without ever being able to be in the rebellion that he had wanted to so badly...

District 12

Xavier Malignatious was one of the very few who had been unaffected by the bombing of District 12 four years before. That was because he had been living in the Victors Village.

Technically, he was not supposed to be living there, but he figured that as his grandfather was District 12's first ever Victor he had a right to be in his old home. He had died ten years earlier, when Xavier was eight. Xavier had not been alive when his grandfather had won, but he had heard the story many times before. He always told it the same.

It was down to the final three. Me, and two Careers. They were the guys from 1 and 2, they had been training all their life and they had more muscle than a dog has fur. But I had something that they lacked. Intellect. We Malignatiouses are known for our intellect, our quick thinking, and our sharp 'd do well to remember that Xavier.

The arena was a cold, frosty landscape, like the next Ice Age, and many tributes had frozen to death. They recently re-did that arena and it was a bit of a letdown correct?  
The two Careers had heavy fur parkas that they had been sponsored, and I had only the light sweatshirt they had given out at the beginning of the Games. They had all the weapons they could have ever wanted, and I had just a small spear I had stolen from a dying tribute.

I crept up to the Cornucopia one night, knowing the Gamemakers would want to end things soon and wanting to end it on my own terms instead of theirs.

It was a dark night and the wind was howling. I had frostbite, a bad case of it, and I knew I had but hours until my very feet froze off. So I jumped on them and they did not know how to react. The fight was brutal and bloody, and it was almost dawn when I finally managed to kill one, the boy from 2. The boy from 1 looked at me with hate for the death of his ally and he attacked even more aggressively than he had been.

Then I had an idea. I knew I was going to, because Malignatious'es always have an idea. I remembered a few days before, a slippery icy place I had come across while hunting. I ran for it. The boy followed, crashing through the trees with the force of a hurricane. He was walking right into my trap. He slid ten feet on the ice and that was where I caught him. He knew he had lost, and he did not struggle. I looked at him one last time, giving him the Malignatious Look, and I stabbed him through the heart with my spear. When he was dead I kept stabbing, and stabbing until the hovercraft came and brought me back, and here I am.. The Untouchable.

Xavier loved that story. He heard it thousands upon thousands of times, but the thrill that occurred when he heard the part of the final fight never left through all those years.

THen his grandfather had died suddenly, and his last words were quite different than his usual Hunger Games monologue.

He had come into the room to see his grandfather, sweating and appeared to be in terrible pain. He had only been an eight year old boy, too young to see his favorite person in the world die!

"Xavier... You are... a Malignatious... But... Even so... You must never lose sight of... of what... what keeps us human and not... and not animal. I... Lost sight of it... That night I won my Games and... I regretted it... to my dying day." He took one more wheezing breath, and died.

Ten years later, Xavier was still puzzling over his words.

Reese Mynin had been affected by the Games a lot more than most other people in the District, except the victors, who were still haunted by their time in the arena.

Three years ago , her cousin David had been killed in the worst way possible, he had told her when they were saying the goodbyes that if he thought he could not win he would cut out his tracker and try to escape. She had been taken away before she could ask him what if he died.

In the Games, David had had an alliance with the little boy from 9 named Warren. David had told Warren about how he had gotten his burns, and then a strange mutt invented by Shark Valler ran the poor kid into a tree and killed him. David had fought hard, but the Mutt slashed open his arm. His tracker arm.

He had made it to the cliff and cut out his tracker with a spear head, and started to climb the cliff. The Gamemakers were freaking out because they had "lost" a tribute, then Shark Valler found him on a small ledge. He had sent a Nightlock Hawk after him, that he had killed, but then he fell off the cliff and he died.

The Nightlock Hawks were such a big success in the Capitol they kept coming back year after year after year, and they were amazing every time. And Shark Valler, who had become Head Gamemaker last year, kept impressing the crowd, especially with his infamous Flower Mutt from the 78th.

That Shark Valler was her sworn enemy and she he had better watch his back.

"The girl tribute for this year will be Reese Mynin!"

She hadn't been paying attention, thinking of her cousin and the fate he had suffered. It had been pretty stupid to think David could actually escape from the arena, the only tributes who had ever done it were the 75th and they had a whole team of rebels helping them.

She could not help holding on to the thought that if it wasn't for Shark Valler and his Nightlock Hawks, he could have escaped.

But now! Her name had been called! She was going to the Capitol to fight to the death! Nightlock hawks are sure to be there, she thought bitterly. Compliments of Shark Valler.

"...And the brave young man from District 12 is Xavier Malignatious!"

Xavier looked up quickly. HIM! He would be a Victor like his grandfather and he just knew it!

District 2 Train

They were almost to the Capitol when Achilles could finally come out of his room. He took one look at Patten and almost turned around and went back.

Patten and Alexandria had been talking about the Career alliance, and Alexandria had began to feel comfortable around her District partner. He was nice, and a skilled fighter, she learned. She thought if her alliance was like this then maybe her place WAS in the Hunger Games. She was almost certain she had made the right choice.

Patten had been nice to the girl, because he knew she would be his ally and could probably kill him if she really wanted to. They were talking about what they thought their chariot costumes would be when Achilles came in.

If there was one part Patten was not looking forward to about avenging his sister's death, it was meeting his mentor, Achilles. He knew all about what had happened with his sister and his mentor, and he felt awkward being in the same room as him.

Achilles felt the same way, except for the pain. Achilles felt more pain than he had since he had won, three years ago. For her brother, volunteering.

Alexandria was just standing by, confused at the tense silence. She began to wonder if it was because of her. Did they not like her? Was she not good enough to be a Career like them? She did not voice her thoughts, but instead kept them to herself in her swirling pool of emotions.

Achilles had to try hard to keep his voice from catching as he said, "We'll be arriving in the Capitol soon, and they're going to give you the stupidest costumes you've ever seen. But you've got to wear them." He felt like he was trying to swallow a golf ball at the memory of his purple sparkly cape. As hideous and frightening as it had been, she had been there with him.

He turned to Patten. "Your stylist is going to be Ravish. He's a little off his rocker but he means well."

"Right," Patten said.

He really does look alot like her, Achilles thought.

District 4 Train

"So guys, are you ready for the infamous chariot rides?" Finnick asked.

"Well I dunno Finnick, ready as I'll ever be I suppose," Drake replied nervously.

Finnick laughed, "Haha well as long as you don't eat any hairy beef legs with fish guts you'll probably be fine."  
"Hairy beef legs with..."  
"Yeah avoid them." Finnick said seriously. "I'm sure both of you know AAlilian Crane?"

Met her, thought Lily. And her brother too... before Grandfather killed him. She looked over at her District partner, Drake. She didn't think very much of him. He was definitely no Career. Of course she had been ordered by her Grandfather to have no allies. Trust no one. Drake always had a sad look about him, like he was constantly mourning over something.

Aspen, who was leaning against the door frame, looked at Lily suspiciously. He didn't like the look she gave Drake, and Finnick for that matter, like they were her next prey. It was time to give his advice.

"Don't ally with anyone you wouldn't trust with your life. That means anyone from 1, or 2, or any other district."  
"I don't have allies," Lily said coldly.

"Hey come on, I don't mean to dis you or anything but you won your Games because the other guy jumped off a cliff right?" Drake asked.

"It was a tower," Aspen muttered.

"And you were passed out for half the Games. You wouldn't have made it without your allies. And most of them were from other Districts right? Like... 2? Wasn't his name Jordan or something?"

"Jolan," Aspen said through gritted teeth.

"...And you've gotta be like, 4'8" !"

"It's 5'1"," said Finnick nervously, bracing himself for what was about to happen.

Before Drake knew what had happened he had been pinned to the wall with a short spear. By Aspen.

"Think I'm not much do you? Jolan and Marcellus were no Careers! They were the most loyal allies I've ever seen in a Games! There won't be anyone like them in fifty blue moons! And Sinatalla... He was a stinking AVOX!"

"Not again..." Finnick murmured. Aspen had had this "talk" with the tributes almost every year.

"And he jumped off that tower because of love! Everything that happened in that Games happened because of..." He broke off and released Drake, who fell to the floor.

Oh here he goes off on Sabarina again, Finnick thought. We'll be to the 100000000000th Games before he forgets about her.

Lily just watched everything calmly and smiled, but the smile held no real emotion. This Drake Anthony would be easy to break.

District 7 Train

Sadie and Andrew were an awkward pair. She was at least twice as big as him, and neither of them fit in with the fancy decor.

After they sat there for a while and Johanna did not show up, Saide just stood up without a word and left to go to her room.

That left just Andrew in the dining car. He was about to go find something else to do when a hand shot out from under the table and grabbed his leg.

Andrew did not struggle because he knew it wouldn't be good for his wound, and so he relaxed but also tensed when he saw it was Joey.

"What are you doing here?!" Andrew asked disbelievingly.

"Hopefully saving your life, now keep it down," Joey whispered. "You can't go into the arena with your back, you know that,"

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you slashed it open with your stupid axe," Andrew retorted bitterly.

Joey gave him a guilty look and said, "Yeah... I know. That's why I'm here."

"To talk to me under the table? People are gonna think I've gone mad!"

"No, I'm going to take your place!" Joey said, like it was the greatest idea ever.

"No," Andrew said immediately. "We don't even look alike!"

"We have a family resemblance," Joey said. "Uhh... kinda..."

Joey was a bit taller and more muscular than Andrew was, due to his inability to work, and Andrew's brown hair was a shade or two darker than Joey's was.

"Come on dude, they've seen you on TV once. The only people who are gonna notice are family and they aren't going to snitch on us."

Andrew thought for a moment. "Fine," he said uncertainly. "But you've got to win."

Joey nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

THE CAPITOL!  
"Well here we are for the 79th annual tribute parade!" said Caesar Flickerman.

"You've all seen the reapings and it looks like we've got an interesting bunch this year!" Claudius Templesmith picked up where Caesar had left off. The "dynamic duo" was doing commentary that year again and the Capitol was as pumped as ever.

"Everyone in the Capitol is gathering in the streets to meet the new tributes!" Caesar said.

"Well they'll have to come in here soon to see the opening ceremonies!" Claudius replied.

"Haha we all know they're just excited to see Shark Valler's new mutts for this year! We have him with us right now so let's talk alright Shark!"

The camera panned out to Caesar and Shark.

"So are you aware that you have been voted the Capitol's favorite Gamemaker ever, and at 23 the youngest Head Gamemaker?" Caesar asked.

"Yes I am," Shark answered. "It's really great to be the most loved Gamemaker ever, it means a lot and after the ahh... issues last year I'm happy to report the Gamemakers are ready as ever for a great year."

"Can you tell us anything about the new Mutts you have planned for this year?"

"Seriously?! Who leaked that?!" Shark asked, frustrated. "I can't tell you anything about the Mutts but I can assure you that I will live up to the expectations." He winked at the cameras.

"I'm sure you're very busy Shark with the Games so close so we'll have to let you go now."

As Shark left he pulled out a radio and said into it, "We need to execute someone..."

"The tributes will be coming any minute now!" Claudius exclaimed. He looked over at Caesar. "Caesar... Are you all right?"

"Yes I'm fine Claudius, just excited," Caesar replied. In truth he did not feel very well but as they say the show must go on!

"Right then we'll go down to the tributes."

Cyan and Pyros were ready for the chariots to get moving. Well, Cyan was.

"I don't understand the point of this! Why do they dress us up in these idiotic costumes! This is no way to treat a Djokovic! If my father could see me now..." Pyros's rant continued.

"He IS seeing you right now," Cyan pointed out tonelessly.

"Quiet filthy Mutt! Do not interrupt!"

"I know fifty different ways to kill you with my bare hands so I'd be quiet if I were you," she said without any emotion whatsoever.

Patten and Alexandria were behind them, Alexandria feeling nervous about the chariot ride. She worried they wouldn't like her, and they wouldn't sponsor her, and then the others including Patten would see that she wasn't good enough for them and then...

"Are you all right?" Patten asked.

"Yeah... fine," said Alexandria. Even if she wasn't good enough for the Careers she could at least pretend to be.

Seth and Allie were acting like polar opposites. Allie was twirling around in circles. She loved her dress, it was a light yellow and almost seemed to glow like a light bulb.

Seth was dressed similarly, but in a suit and tie, and he kept pulling on the tie like it was trying to choke him. "...Just get it over with already..." he was muttering.

Drake leaned against his side of the chariot with crossed arms, back still aching from being slammed against the wall by Aspen. Lily was next to him, standing straight and unmoving.

Drake looked over at her. "It would probably be better to act human," he said sarcastically and mimicked her stoic pose.

Her eyes flashed angrily. If only you know who you were talking to you idiot! She remained silent but decided Drake would be her kill. No doubt about it.

Nicholas and Lenna were wearing black T-shirts and jeans with glittering silver lightning bolt patterns. Neither were looking forward to letting the public see them. Lenna self consciously crossed her arms over her chest to hide as much of the stupid costume as she could. They were going to hate her, she just knew it. They were all going to hate her...

Nicholas saw the doors opening and braced himself for the initial jolt that meant the chariot was starting to move.

"And here they are! The tributes for this year!"

Joey, pretending to be Andrew, was standing on his chariot trying to avoid Sadie's gaze. If anyone here in the Capitol noticed he wasn't Andrew, who had gone home on the return train to District 7, it would be Sadie or Johanna Mason.

"Wow I'm blinded by the tributes from 3's costumes aren't you Caesar?"

"Oh... yes," Caesar replied. He felt even worse than he had while interviewing Shark, and he wanted the opening ceremonies to get done already so he could go home. He regretted sending Lauren back to District 1 now, because she would have really been helpful, but there had been just too many complaints about how annoying she was that he could not ignore.

"Oh, there's District 6 and... oh hahaha look at their costumes! They're riding in a giant hovercraft! Isn't that clever!"

"Cl...Clever..." Caesar was sweating quite a lot now, and he felt even worse if it was possible. Then, everything went black.

The chariots were almost all pulled in and President Snow stood up to make his usual speech when he got a call from Shark Valler.

"There's a problem, sir," he said urgently. He sounded out of breath. "I just got a call from Claudius up in the commentators' balcony and it looks like Caesar's passed out..."

"He what?!" Snow said disbelievingly. Of all the things that could have gone wrong, Caesar Flickerman passing out was not one of them that had crossed his mind.

"I'm headed up there right now, sir. You can make the speech, I don't think anyone's noticed yet except Claudius of course."

Shark had just arrived in the commentators' balcony and said to Claudius, "Does he have a pulse?"

"I.. I don't know, sir... I just..."

Shark sighed. "You lost control Claudius, we're all aware of that. Now call a hovercraft, we need him airlifted to a hospital right away."

When the hovercraft came, Xavier was the first one to notice. "What's that?!" he exclaimed, and then the other tributes noticed, then the Capitol citizens.

Everyone started to shriek in terror and run all over, then a booming voice came from the commentators' balcony. "EVERYONE! SETTLE DOWN!"

They did, at the voice of their favorite Gamemaker ever. Reese's blood boiled at the sound of the voice she had heard all over TV for the past three years. And there he was in person.

"CAESAR, UHHH... PASSED OUT... AND WE AIRLIFTED HIM TO A HOSPITAL."

More screaming and running.

"BUT THERE IS NO NEED TO PANIC," said a panicking Shark, "BECAUSE HE'S GOING TO BE JUST FINE AND HE'LL BE HOSTING THE CAESAR FLICKERMAN SHOW JUST LIKE USUAL TOMORROW."

Everyone calmed significantly, and then someone must have realized that this was THE Shark Valler right there. And he wasn't just on a TV screen. A large mob of people ran for the commentators' balcony.

One of those days when it's not so good to be the most popular person in Panem, Shark thought nervously. When this is over I might need to be airlifted out of here.


End file.
